Unforgotten Memories
by Tricia
Summary: PG for one minor swear word. This is about Cloud and Zach in the tanks in Niebelhem after being infected with Jenova cells and the events leading to Cloud and Tifa's reunion in Midgar... R&R please!


Disclaimer: I dont own Final Fantasy 7, it belongs solely to Square. Only this story belongs to me. Yatta yatta you know the rest of it.  
  
Where am I? Who am I? Why am I here? Those were the most sane thoughts Cloud had experienced within the past two hours as he floated gently in the containment tank. He had been here for... how long? Cloud's memory had eluded him for quite some time now. Most of his thoughts included madness and escape, and his dreams were just a whirlwind of color and sounds, jarbled together in the darkness of his mind.   
  
Get out.. tank... who else? Cloud tried with extreme dificulty to move his head enough that he could catch a glimpse of the woman, man? that was being contained in the tank next to him. Finally he got a clear view into the contents of the next tank and vaguely recognized that the person was a man.  
  
Know him... who? Zeck.. Zick... Zach? Was his name Zach? Cloud managed to take a deep breath, trying to hold onto this momentary lapse of insanity where he could actually intellegently collect his thoughts sanely. He looked over again at the man next to him and knocked feebly on the glass of the tank, trying to get the Zach's attention.  
  
After several seconds of weak knocking, Zach woke and looked over into Cloud's tank, eyes widening to see Cloud fully aware for the first time in a while.  
  
Using his fingernails, he scratched a message onto the side of the tank facing Zach.  
  
"have to get out" He wrote, then waited anxiously for Zach to answer as he started feeling the effects of the Jenova cells once again.  
  
Finally Zach reached out his hand and scratched a message in reply.  
  
"when they bring in food. We'll escape then." Cloud nodded marginally, then gave up his grasp on reality and fell back into the mires of insanity and pain once again.  
  
No NO NO have to run RUN gEt OuT oF hErE NO JENOVA SEPHIROTH RUN HELP no get out HELP ME zach ZACH OUT OF HERE! NO SOLDIER NO out No! Zach..  
  
"-to get out of here." Zach was saying, though Cloud could only here his voice very faintly from his stance in the darkest corner of his mind. He felt himself being carried, then uncerimoniously dumped onto a cold metal floor. Engines were brought to life and the floor beneath him seemed to move for a moment, then only jostled him slightly.  
  
-out of here! NO jenova project SEPHIROTH who am I? WHO AM I? no one no one you arent anyone SWORD fight FiGhT SoLdIeR burn FLAMES SEPHIROTH monster TOWn Ti fa to wn No nO  
  
"-become mercenaries, you and me, right Cloud?" Zach's voice said unwaveringly, though Cloud could not get a good enough grip on his wavering sanity to answer him.   
  
-!!!!!! DANGER cliff No TIF A Wh Ere aRe you HURT? HURt no DANGER where am I? WHO am I? NO kill fight DANGER no-  
  
He was being dragged over some sort of soft surface, and was once again dumped onto something that vaguely felt like grass. He could hear shouting, and the sound of a sword being drawn. Rough voices, saying something about some sort of specimen, then gunfire.  
  
Cloud managed to take hold of this momentary gap of madness to pry open his eyes and study his surroundings. He could just make out the backs of several guards dressed in blue and a business suited person walking away. Craning his neck, he saw Zach laying on the grass several feet away.  
  
-no nO NO DANGER YOU knew But you DIDNT do ANYTHING about it! ZAch dead NO! Help MUST get revenge! Danger REVENGE revENGE kill FIght-  
  
Dragging himself slowly across the now bloody grass, Cloud grasped Zach's sword and got to his feet with newborn strength as he felt anger surging through his body at his friends death. He stood looking over the horizon at Midgar, sword held aloft as he felt unbidden tears silently marking passage down his cheeks.  
  
An hour later he had found passage on a train headed to Midgar, and sat uncomfortably in a dark corner on the train. He looked around suspisiciously at the people crowded into the train around him, and touched his sword reassuringly.  
  
-cant let them know. HELP DangER nO! Zach is dead NO JenOVa OUT. Have to find Tifa. She should be at DANGER no One IS GOIng tO Seventh Heaven. In sector 7 I think. I hope she hasnt -DANGER- gotten into any trouble. Let ME ouT! I cant BREathe OUch youRE HurtING me NOO dont NO!-  
  
Cloud felt himself being herded out of the train with the other passengers and stumbled blindly onto the stonewarn pavement, almost tumbling down the steps as more passengers stepped out of the train behind him. He made his way down the steps cautiously, and managed to move over to the lamppost before collapsing onto the pavement.  
  
-No. I have to.. find Tifa. I just have to find Tifa and I'll be alright. Where is she? Why cant I get up?-  
  
"-all right sir? Do you need help?" Someone was saying to him, its hand lightly on his shoulder, its voice full of hesitent concern. Cloud shook his head marginally, unwilling to force his weary body to over work itself. Suddenly he heard a female voice call his name and managed to force his eyes to work.  
  
"-Tifa?" He asked weakly. Tifa rushed to his side, eyes wide and full of fear.   
  
"Cloud! What are you doing here? Are you allright?" She asked, her voice almost spilling over with unhidden concern. Cloud stood up shakily, shaking his head to clear his vision.  
  
Tifa? I didnt know she worked here. I thought she still lived in Niebelhelm with her father... I cant believe her father actually let her out of the house, much less the village with that over-protectiveness of his.  
  
"Im fine." He said stubbornly, determined to not let on what had happened to him.  
  
Happened to me? What happened to me? Cloud shook his head again, then took Tifa's arm in his and started walking.  
  
"What are you doing here? I thought you still lived in Niebelhelm." Cloud asked, voicing his earlier thoughts. Tifa looked at him oddly, a look full of confusion and minute concern.  
  
"I run a bar here." Tifa said before pulling Cloud into a warm, if awkward embrace.  
  
"How long has it been Cloud? I havent seen you for so long... I had thought you'd gotten hurt, or worse..." She trailed off and hid her face as it began to blush a light pink.   
  
"Its been a while I guess. But being in Soldier has taken up alot of my time... so what kind of trouble have you managed to get yourself into lately?" Cloud asked, trying to change the subject before Tifa could catch onto the memory loss Cloud had been experiencing lately. It wasnt really memory loss, but confusion. Many times he would remember something, then remember something else about that same event and not know which one was right. Something that he would have to worry about later, Cloud reminded himself. Only Tifa and revenge were on his mind right now.  
  
Revenge? Revenge for what? Dammit, why cant I remember?  
  
Tifa laughed lightly, tossing her long brown hair over one shoulder before her expression became serious again.  
  
"I've joined up with this group called Avalanche..."   
  
Authors Note: I havent played FF7 in a long time, so dont sue me or flame me, pointing out all the stuff I remembered wrong or made up, ok? Please? Remember people, FF8 is my fanfic specialty. In fact this is my first FF7 fic. So did ya like it? Please review! Thanks!  
  
  
  
  



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